RAINIER NATIONAL PARK

Day Two of our Pacific Northwest Vacation

After the civilization of the previous day in Victoria, we were ready to see the
wildness of nature. It was a chilly morning so the three of us dressed
warmly and headed for Rainier National Park. It is a good thing
Erik and Jill did the driving, because I was lost most of
the time.

We were not disappointed in Rainier: the scenery was spectacular, but
there was something more -- the experience of being there, surrounded
by all that untouched natural splendor. It did my soul
good. Jill is pictured here.

We strayed
off the beaten track at times to
places with no guardrails. My intrepid
companions stood on the brink of
eternity to peer down into this gorge that
water and time cut deep into the
mountain.

I usually stayed well back from the edge
to take in the wonder of it all, though I
did crawl over the rocks
on my belly to take one
shot of the gorge. This
photograph, however, was taken from the safety of
the bridge pictured below. Over and over at Rainier I
was impressed by the sheer power of nature.

Click on any image to see a larger version

We heard reports of snow on the roads up in the high
elevations, but we forged on. How much snow
can there be in June, after all? The answer is PLENTY!
But it was grand. I would not want to have missed this sight.